Decision—An Unexpected Turn

With everything arranged, Rinya proceeded as planned.

Always a lone wolf, Rinya made a bold decision this time, though it was one he had long since contemplated.

He would only participate in the final cleanup, leaving the entire execution of the subsequent plan to Kushida Kikyo and Ibuki Mio.

While it would have been most appropriate for him to personally conduct such a dangerous test, the thought of acquiring even more powerful and excellent tools in the future crossed his mind.

Having made long-term plans, Rinya had long wanted to test his tools, but he had been troubled by the lack of a suitable opportunity.

After all, as someone who emerged from the White Room, the philosophy of survival of the fittest was deeply ingrained in his bones.

Now, just before the start of the uninhabited island trip, he needed to clarify some uncertain factors, and he wanted to take this opportunity to see if the tools he had currently set his sights on were still qualified to follow him in the future.

When the two girls heard this that day, they were naturally taken aback and wore expressions of difficulty.

However, upon hearing the deeper meaning behind the test their master had set for them, they immediately understood what he meant.

Although they were deeply shaken by their master's cold and ruthless words.

They knew that if they were denied now, their future would likely end in expulsion... so even though there was still time, how could they dare to show even a hint of slackness?

Ibuki Mio chose to return first to keep a close watch on Ryuen Kakeru, promising to notify Kushida Kikyo by phone if there were any changes.

After all, given that guy's cautious and suspicious nature, Ibuki Mio, who had been by his side, really couldn't be sure if he would be obedient enough to arrive as promised.

As for Sudo Ken, the fuse for this operation, Rinya had naturally made arrangements for Kushida early on, having taken the opportunity to attach a tracker to his back while visiting him.

Now that he had handed the phone controlling the tracker to Kushida, how she handled it was up to her.

"Master, I..." Kushida said, her tone filled with hesitation as she took the phone.

"Oh? Are you scared?"

"No... it's not that~"

Hearing Kushida use such an unusual tone, Rinya looked at her, feeling a bit curious about what was on her mind.

Facing Rinya's direct gaze, Kushida bit her lip, unable to hide her panic.

But thinking of her master's words from earlier today, she tried her best to pour out the worries she had been suppressing.

"Ma... Master, actually, I didn't know that Hirata-kun would ask me to take on that fund project that day, otherwise I definitely would have refused."

"Sigh, it's all my fault for being too rash and not thinking things through carefully. Now, not only have I offended you, Master, but I don't even know how to face everyone in the classroom anymore."

"Wuwuwuwu..."

As she spoke, Kushida, thinking she had made a grave mistake, couldn't help but sob softly.

"Oh? Is that all?"

Rinya shook his head with a chuckle, his tone turning teasing. "You've been with me for a while now; am I really such a petty person?"

While stroking her hair, he felt somewhat speechless; he truly hadn't cared about that matter at the time.

However, thinking about it now, some people really did need to be dealt with, otherwise, if his cute tool acted in such a state, an accident might actually occur.

I just wonder if doing this can also help lure that guy out as well? I'm looking forward to it more and more~

"Alright, I'll handle that matter for you. Just go to class as usual tomorrow; no one will say anything to you."

"But I have to remind you again: Sudo Ken is very likely to take retaliatory action tonight. Remember to coordinate the timing well with Ibuki Mio. Don't let me down."

"Mm-hmm, tha... thank you, Master~" Kushida wiped her moist eyes, her bright gaze filled with the raw, budding emotions of a young girl.

"Alright, alright, go figure out how to do it yourself."

Rinya waved his hand dismissively. As he prepared to leave, he added, "However, if both sides end up being defeated by Koenji, remember to notify me. I'm still looking forward to personally handling the finale of this grand show, hehe..."

"Yes~"

Watching Rinya slowly walk away, Kushida clenched her small hands, her eyes filled with determination.

No matter what, she had to give her master the most satisfying answer for this operation, not just for the sake of her own fate, but for that long-hidden emotion in her heart that she didn't even know how to describe.

At nightfall, Kushida, who had scouted the area around the gym early on, was already set.

She had placed a high-precision camera in a dense thicket, intending to record the entire battle.

Perhaps because that was how her own weakness had been captured in the past.

Now, she wanted to see if she could use the same method to capture some leverage on Koenji for her master during this test.

When her phone emitted a faint vibration, she opened it and saw that, just as her master had predicted, Sudo Ken had snuck out of the hospital.

However, what puzzled her next was that the target showed no signs of heading toward the gym, but instead was moving rapidly toward the southeast of the school.

If she remembered correctly, wasn't that where the school regularly recruited volunteers for outside work? Why would he go there...

As Kushida wondered, the more she thought about it, the stranger it felt.

For some reason, watching the red dot on her phone move faster and faster, her intuition kept sending a sense of crisis.

Realizing something was wrong, she was just about to call Ibuki Mio to inform her, but just as she picked up the phone, she received a call from her instead.

"Hello~ Ibuki-chan, I have something to tell you, it's just..."

Before she could even finish her sentence, Kushida was interrupted by a series of urgent sounds coming from the other end.

"Quickly..."

"Run! Kushida Kikyo, Ryuen Kakeru has already realized something is wrong with me..."

"Run? Ibuki, what on earth is going on? Tell me!"

Listening to the intermittent voice over the phone, Kushida felt that a major problem had occurred and hurriedly asked in a panic.

However, the call had already been disconnected...

When she tried calling back, the automated voice informed her that the phone was now powered off.

"How could this happen?" Kushida lowered her phone, dazed, her pupils constricting sharply.

She had never expected that an operation she thought would only require simple coordination would encounter such a massive turn of events.

It seemed as if everything had happened too quickly—too fast for her to anticipate, and too fast for her to know how to react.

What should I do? Should I ask Master for help? Kushida asked herself, but she fell into a momentary silence.

Only then did she recall the meaningful words her Master had spoken earlier that day.

It seemed that only now did she truly understand the real intention behind his test.

"Buzz, buzz, buzz..."

Just then, her phone vibrated again. Kushida instinctively opened it to check, but when she saw a dense cluster of over a dozen question marks appearing around the red dot, she was completely stunned.

She remembered her Master telling her that the question marks represented the human life signatures detected by the thermal imaging within the tracker.

"But, how... how could there be so many?" Kushida muttered to herself, her center of gravity failing her as she collapsed onto the ground.

Ibuki's sudden loss of contact...

The group of people suddenly surrounding Sudo...

Even though it had only just begun, Kushida already felt completely lost in the confusion.

Just as she reached a dead end and was desperately preparing to ask her Master for help.

In the haze of her mind, Kushida strangely saw another version of herself...

It was a Kushida whose personality was the exact opposite of her own.

Although they had swapped before, it had felt like nothing more than a dream to her, and subconsciously, she did not like that violent side of herself.

But now, with nowhere left to turn, and having heard the other side say that asking for help meant she would definitely be eliminated in the future, she finally relented. Beset by troubles from within and without, she was willing to completely surrender herself to the other, wishing only that this was still a dream, and that when she woke up, she would still be that gentle and sweet girl...

"Is it finally my turn?"

"Hmph!"

"Detestable man, just watch. This time, I will absolutely not lose."

The girl's pupils gradually turned a dark purple as she violently tore off her outer jacket, leaving only a set of pitch-black clothes.

At this moment, she seemed to blend perfectly into the night...

If you like this book, please remember to add it to your bookshelf so you don't lose it next time.